Articles

Yoga for Peace, by Tingting Peng

Namaskar, October 2009

As Typhoon
Koppu stormed through Hong Kong on September 14, exactly one week before the International
Day of Peace, the energy in the city felt anything but peaceful. In the days that followed, rain continued to
drench the streets and contingency plans were being carefully made at
Cyberport, for Peace International Foundation’s second annual Peace Day
celebrations. As the organizer of the
kick-off event Yoga for Peace, I, along with my fellow teachers Peggy Chiu and
Vincent Hewitt, hoped that our intention for a day with good weather would
manifest as timely as possible. In the
meantime, the word spread about the free community class we were offering and
people began to learn about the story behind September 21.

It all
began in 1999, when filmmaker Jeremy Gilley tirelessly set out to document his
efforts at establishing the first ever annual day of global ceasefire and
non-violence. Two years later, the 192
member states of the United Nations unanimously adopted September 21as the UN
International Day of Peace and it has been celebrated ever since by various
organizations worldwide. Similar to
Jeremy, Maria Ying-Matthews, Founder and Chairperson of the Peace International
Foundation, was also seeking to engage the different communities in Hong Kong in observance of an end to conflict
and an awakening of consciousness, inner peace and compassion on this very day. I met Maria a couple of months earlier over
coffee and was deeply inspired by her mission to create a grassroots effort in
peace education and children’s outreach in a place seen by many as a city of
excess and extremes. At the time I was
looking for ways to start up community yoga classes and so we joined hands and
Yoga for Peace was born.

Fast
forward to September 20, 8:00am on a partly sunny Sunday morning
and the birds are chirping in the trees of the Cyberport Outdoor Podium. Peggy, Vincent and I, decked out in our
bright yoga gear sponsored by lululemon athletica, began welcoming our first
participant arrivals. People signed in,
collected their free yoga accessory and yoga journals (also sponsored by
lululemon), and rolled out their mats onto the grass, some strategically
scouting the best spots for a shade or a breeze before settling down. Within minutes, the grassy steps of the
podium were a rainbow display of colorful mats, eager participants of all ages
and ability levels. Peggy, who happens
to be the latest lululemon ambassador, led the group to three soulful Om’s to commence this year’s Yoga for
Peace community event.

Asking the
participants to each set his or her own intentions for making peace with at
least one aspect of their lives, Peggy reminded us of the importance of breath
in connecting to our inner stillness as she flowed through a series of Sun
Salutations. She transitioned seamlessly
to Vincent, who continued to playfully challenge the crowd with poses such as
garudasana, ardha utkatasana, and bakasana. Finally, I invited the participants
to try out some balancing poses, vrksasana and uttitha hasta, in pairs,
encouraging them to share in the positive vibes of their neighbors and friends. Closing out the practice with a short
meditation, I encouraged everyone to find a place of silence within, to carry
their intention through the remainder of Peace Day and to inspire to have their
inner stillness eventually reflect outwardly onto all aspects of their lives.

Despite
moments when it felt like sunbathing on a hot summer day, Yoga for Peace turned
out to be great fun. I found it
tremendously rewarding to be able to share the experience with Peggy, Vincent,
and all of our dedicated participants. We
hope to continue this tradition in some form or other because connecting to
peace isn’t something to be done just once a year, it is a journey of self
discovery and a way to contribute to our community through all that we do each
and every day.

In general, Americanized Yoga is misunderstood as being Hatha Yoga, or primarily about postures, and has been glamorized as being for weight loss and looking good. This is fine as the postures are particularly beneficial, but it is a bit like having a tiny slice of delicious pie and thinking you have the whole pie. There is so much more pie to go, as traditional Yoga is a whole way of life that enables us to deepen our understanding of the whole of ourselves.

...while I was training for my first half marathon...I was running faster and for longer distances that I ever had before, and my muscles were paying the price. I returned from every long workout session (and woke up every morning) with tight hamstrings, even tighter calves, and general aches and pains all over.

I turned to stretching—and yoga in particular—to help balance out my long runs and give my body the cross-training it needed. And I soon began to look forward to yoga classes whenever I could squeeze them in.